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US presidential election 2016

Russian diplomat blasts US electoral system as 'outdated and defective'

According to the diplomat, it would be useful for the authorities of some US states to learn about the Vienna Convention and international law

© AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

MOSCOW, October 31 /TASS/. The US electoral system is archaic and flawed. It is something what Washington is trying to conceal, Konstantin Dolgov, Russian Foreign Ministry Ombudsman for Human Rights Democracy and Rule of Law, said on Monday.

"It’s just amazing. Washington likes to indoctrinate everybody on how elections should be organized but the US electoral system has already turned into a byword. We do not need anybody to lecture on us. If everything is so fine in US (election system), what is the reason for hiding anything then?" Dolgov said commenting on US refusal to allow Russian diplomats to be present at polling stations during the US Presidential Elections scheduled for November 8.

Read also

Kremlin ex-chief: Russia is ready to open new page in relations with US after elections

"Hysteria broke out over our intention to send Russian diplomats to some polling stations to see how the election process is being organized. We were forbidden to do that in a rather rude manner. We even received direct criminal prosecution threats from some states," Dolgov went on to say.

According to the diplomat, it would be useful for the authorities of some US states to learn about the Vienna Convention and international law. "But the State Department started accusing us of seeking to carry out a PR stunt. It just confirms our assessments that apart from being archaic, the US electoral system also has flaws. So they want to conceal the issue or at least not to demonstrate it," Dolgov noted.

Earlier, Russia’s daily Izvestia reported with reference to the Russian Central Electoral Commission that the US authorities had refused to allow Russian diplomats to monitor the presidential elections at polling stations in three US states - Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas - on November 8.

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Foreign policy Russian Foreign Ministry United States Hillary Clinton Konstantin Dolgov US elections 2016

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